WORCESTER, Mass. – First year Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) recorded an impressive 19 point, 11 rebound double-double to get Wellesley College basketball past Clark University, 72-60, in the season opener of NEWMAC competition at Hurst Courts on Saturday.
In addition to Shane, sophomore Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) recorded 21 points, four assists and three steals for the Blue (6-8, 1-0 NEWMAC). First year Stacy Chen (Minneapolis, Minn.) chipped in 15 points with four assists and sophomore Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.) led all individuals with five assists.
The Cougars (8-7, 0-1 NEWMAC) scoring leader was first year Cyriah Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.) with 14. Sophomore Emma Drefs (Ridgecrest, Calif.) came up one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Classmate Olivia Shipley (Castleton, Vt.) supplied four blocks for Clark.
Wellesley went 9-4 in the first quarter with Shane and Barrow each hitting a pair of buckets. Strong defense by the Blue limited Clark to only nine tallies in the opening 10 minutes, with Wellesley up 15-9 after one period.
Clark fired back, tying the game at 17-17 with 7:32 in the second by way of a Catherine Antwi (Lowell, Mass.) deep ball. The Blue struck back with six unanswered points. A late Wellesley 7-0 run and a final three of the half from Clark made 30-23 for the visitors after one half of play.
Wellesley brought its lead up to 11 at 36-25. Clark clawed back, cutting it five at 36-31 halfway through the third. The Cougars never got it back within one possession before an eight point Blue surge made it 52-40. After three quarters, Wellesley was up 54-43.
The hosts scored the opening seven points of the fourth, making it a fourth point game, 54-50, with 7:51 remaining. Shane and Barrow supplied Wellesley with offense, maintaining at least a two possession lead throughout as time ran down. Clark never got within six in the final four minutes, as the Blue closed out a NEWMAC victory. First-year Proud Techarungchaikul (Bangkok, Thailand) put up a late basket for Wellesley.
Wellesley shot 44.4% (24-for-54) as a team and knocked down 22 shots from the foul line. The Blue outrebounded the Cougars 46-32 and scored 34 points in the paint.
Each team competes in a road NEWMAC contest at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, January 22. Wellesley plays at Emerson Colleges while Clark heads to MIT.
